


...I feel fine...

by afrocurl



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Gen, M/M, New Year's Eve, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-23
Updated: 2013-03-23
Packaged: 2017-12-06 05:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/732181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the eve of Y2K, Charles and Raven spend the night together, bonding over issues that any 17 and 11 year olds might.</p>
            </blockquote>





	...I feel fine...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tahariel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tahariel/gifts).



> This is a birthday fic for the wonderful **tahariel** , and I hope you enjoy it, dear!

“Raven, you need to come out of the bathroom. You can’t celebrate Y2K in the bathroom. Even if you’re eleven.” Charles hoped - prayed really - that his sister would come out, because his plans for the rest of the night completely depended on her.

“I don’t wanna die,” she said through the door.

“You won’t die, I promise.”

“But the Y2K bug means that we’ll lose our money.”

“That’s ridiculous. Nothing will happen to our money. The banks and the computers and all the electronic things will not fail we switch from 99 to 00. I swear it. Actually, I know it, because all the computer experts have been disproving that crap for a week.”

He heard the door creak, and watched as his sister, in her blue form, came out from the bathroom. “That’s better. Now, will you come downstairs with me?”

“But what if the TV goes out?” she asked, waves of confusion rolling off her small frame.

“Well, what if we went down to the bunker with the battery-operated TV?”

“The bunker’s so cold,” she whined.

“Well, what if we built a blanket fort for you and me and the TV? Would that work for you?”

She nodded enthusiastically and jumped into his space, arms wrapping around him tightly.

“I need you to let go of me if we’re going to build this blanket fort. Why don’t you go get all your favorites and I’ll get mine?”

“Okay,” she said, into his sweater, before she released him and ran towards her room.

This was not how he’d planned to spend his New Year’s Eve, but it was better than pining over the fact that he wasn't going to make it to Moira's party and that he wasn't going to get to make out with Erik at midnight.

However, Charles had never been one to balk at obstacles. If it was his job to keep Raven entertained tonight, then that was what he would do.

-

Finding all the blankets in the house took longer than Charles imagined. There just weren't enough blankets - or pillows, for that matter - to really maketo really make an adequate fort in the bunker.

Damn the place for being _so fucking huge_. At the same time, it did remind Charles that he needed to throw a party down here at some point before graduation.

Raven tugged at his sweater, bringing him out of his daydream. “Are we ready yet?” she asked.

“I think so. Let’s start in the corner and see what we can do,” he said as he walked over to said corner, grabbing the few chairs strewn around the bunker for support.

Raven looked confused as he moved the extra chairs around before he took one large blanket and wrapped it around the back of one chair.

“Is that how it’s supposed to go?” Raven asked.

“Yes, it is, but why don’t you try it and we’ll see how it goes.” He handed her a large blanket and watched her try to put it around two of the legs and over the top.

“That doesn’t work,” she huffed as soon as she found she couldn’t move the blanket more than half a foot over the end of the back.

“Then why don’t we try it my way again? See if that’s better.” He lifted the legs and removed the blanket from the floor.

“That is better,” she said later, just as the canopy started to take shape.

“Excellent. We have,” he looked down at his watch, “just over an hour until Dick Clark starts.”

“Can’t we watch MTV?”

“You always watch Dick Clark, though.”

“That’s because Mom always has it on. I hate him because there’s never anyone in the audience who looks like us.”

“Is that important to you?” he asked, knowing that this was going to lead to another, entirely different, conversation, and given that he wasn’t getting drunk tonight, they might as well have it out.

“It is. I’m tired of looking pink and blonde at school. It itches.” She raked her fingers over her skin, acting out how she felt at the end of each day.

Charles hummed while he thought of what to say. He tried to focus on the blanket fort, but it was nearly finished. “Do I need to talk to Mom about it?”

She shook her head. “I wanna do it. I’m a big girl, you know.”

“I know, but I remember being in elementary school with my ability. It was never easy.”

“That’s because you can read everyone’s mind if you want. That’s scary. I’m just blue. That’s less scary.”

Charles stopped himself before he said something disastrous. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

“I do. Can we go back to the fort now? Carson’s gonna be on soon.”

Charles refocused his attention on trying to finish their blanket fort, finally content with how it looked just as Raven started to whine about missing MTV.

As he turned the portable TV on, he tried to find the station, and failed. “We can’t watch MTV down here, Raven. It’s on cable. There’s no cable on this.”

She huffed in annoyance. “So we wasted all this time _for nothing_?”

“No, we didn’t. We got to hang out like brother and sister. Isn’t that nice?”

“Guess so, but now I wanna watch Carson, so let’s go back upstairs?”

“Sure, let me just get these undone. I’ll be up there soon.”

Raven ran towards the door of the bunker and left Charles alone, with twenty blankets and pillows and four chairs.

_Abso-fuckin-lutely perfect._

-

Somehow, Charles had no idea, he finished bringing all the blankets and pillows back up before it was midnight.

Walking into the room that they had long since designated as their living room, Raven was lying on the floor, eyes glued to the screen.

“You’re almost late. We have ten minutes.”

“But I’m here now, so that’s good, right?”

“We don’t have anything to toast with, though.”

“Au contraire. I just happened to find something for us in the kitchen,” he said, pulling out a bottle of sparkling cider.

“No glasses.”

“We could share it.”

She nodded and grabbing for it. “I want first dibs.”

“All yours,” he said as he watched her hurriedly open the bottle. She got it open just as Carson started to talk about 2000 in style.

“Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Happy New Year!” she yelled before she took a long pull from the bottle. She passed it to him, and as she did, she squealed at No Doubt on the screen.

Charles let her have her moment of listening to the band singing “It’s the End of the World As We Know It”, and took his own sip of the cider. Just as the song ended, the phone rang.

No one he knew would ever call Raven so late - all of her friends were at home with their parents - but all of his friends were still up, he was sure.

“Happy New Year!” he said, listening to the sounds of a party in the background.

“Miss you,” Erik slurred over the din.

“Miss you, too.”

“Not the same without you.”

“I’m sure. I can’t be there to be the drunkest of them all. Though it sounds like you’re doing that for me.”

“Had to get through it without you. Can’t drive to see you now.”

“Well, come by tomorrow morning, or afternoon, and we’ll celebrate.”

Raven looked back at him and said, “Stop talking to Erik and celebrate with me.”

“Duty calls, Erik. Tomorrow?”

“‘Morrow!” he said just before he hung up.

“So now you’ll pay attention to me again?” Raven asked.

“Of course. What do you want to do now?”

“Is there another bottle of cider?”

He nodded before leaving to get the other bottle, knowing that Raven would pass out from the combined excitement of the fort and her freak-out before he got back.

Clearly, the world was still standing - and 2000 was already looking to be a good year.

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by **firstlightofeos** and **ninemoons42**.
> 
> The song that Raven wants to hear really did play on US MTV just as 2000 rolled in.


End file.
